Puppet-valve for internal-combustion



F 0. SHEPHERD. PUPPET VALVE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. I918.

1,330,044. Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK D. SHEPHERD, 0F SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

PUPPET-VALVE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 3, 1920.

Application filed February 28, 1918. Serial No. 219,692.

internal combpstion engines, and more particularly to the spring means, and the parts associated therewith, for acting on the valve in opposition to the customary cam for lifting the valve, and setting forth the objects of my invention generally they are the reduction in size .of certain of the arts concerned whereby the quantity 0 material required and the weight thereof may be greatly reduced without any impairment of the efficiency of the mechanism whatever; economy of manufacture by simplification of the structure and otherwise, economy being secured in this way additionally to that which is secured by reduction of material, and all without any-impairment of the efficiency of the mechanlsm; ease and convenience of manipulation in assembling the parts and removing them for access to the valve and to them when necessary; and to secure the maximum power from the fuel used in the engine; and for the attainment of these objects and others which will be understood by those skilled in the art when the nature of the invention is understood from the specification and drawings, my invention consists in the improvements substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of enough of a gas engine to illustrate one embodiment of my invention; v

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is atop plan view of the spring engaging spider;

Fig. 4 is a new similar to Fig. 1 illustrating a different embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the upper spring engaging head of Fig. 4:;

ig. 6 is a view of the inner side of said upper spring engaging head;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 4 of still another form of my invention; Fig. 8 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 9 is a detail top plan view of the oil hole valve and the upper spring engaging spider shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a similar view of the lower spring engaging spider; v

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 7 of yet another construction embodying my invention;

Fig. 12 a detail view in section showing a fiat form of valve and the valve seat for the oil holc instead of the conical form --shown in Figs. 7 and 11.

My invention is not limited in its application to any particular type or construction of engine, and it will therefore be understood that the engine construction shown in the drawings is merely illustrative and is. shown in the drawings simply because it is desirable for the sake of completeness of illustration of my invention.

As the valve mechanism is the same for both intake and exhaust, I show in the drawings but one valve mechanism, and as my invention is not concerned with the valve lifting mechanism, I do not consider it necessary to illustrate any more of the latter than a portion of the stem through which the lifting mechanism acts to raise the valve periodically from its seat.

In the drawings, 10 designates a cylinder, 11 the piston therein, 12 the cylinder head, 13 the valve seat, 1% the valve head for controlling communication between the cylinder 10 and the chamber 15 (either the intake or the exhaust), and 16 the valve. lifting stem. i

In the cylinder head I provide an internally threaded Opening 17 that extends from the outer end of the head into the port 18 controlled by the valve mechanism and shell 19 on the outside and is screwed thereon, the interior of the flange being threaded and the exterior of the adjacent portion of the shell 19 being threaded for this screw connection. By applying the cap 20 to the shell in the manner described no portion of the shell is taken up by the connection between the ca and the shell, and thus the interior of t e shell need be only large .enough to accommodate the spring and asso- 23 extends through the container and in which is slidably fitted astem 24.- reaching at its inner end to the valve head 14 and at its outer end into the chamber 23, and said stem moves outward when the valve is lifted from its seat and it is the means of trans- I mitting'to the valve the force of the spring means within the chamber 23 for seating the valve and yieldingly' holding the head 14 to its seat. Within the chamber-23 and at the inner end thereof and in position to act upon and with the stem 24 is a disk 25 which slidingly fits the walls of the chamber 23 and between the outer face of said disk and the inner end of the cap 20, I interpose a plurality of concentric coil springs 26, the springs being thus nested one within the other. I am thus enabled to use a shell or container that is very short compared with a construction employing a single spring,

' ample spring. pressure to be applied to the and yet the plurality of springs enables valve head 14 to move it to its seat and hold it there until lifted by the valve lifting mechanism.

The inner spring 26 is inclosed by two telescoping cups 27 and 27, the side walls of which are situated in the space between the two springs 26 with the end of the lower cup engaging the disk 25, and the end of the upper cup engaging the underside of the cap 20. The two cups have as tight a fit upon each other as possible consistent with the sliding movement that is desired. By the provision of the two cups it will be seen that the space within the container shell which gas leaking into the same may occupy, is greatly reduced in volume so that the quantity of gas thus leaking into the chamber 23 must necessarily be small. Any gas finding its way into the chamber 23 can'- not escape therefrom into the atmosphere because of the gas-tight closure of the outer end of the chamber 23 by the cap 20.

In some cases either spring 26 may be omitted because by reason of the close fit of the cups, the body of air confined within them is -compressed to some extent and on its expansion it assists in seating the valve; and the valve when seated is relieved of that much of the seating pressure which the air v I r v I comes to rest when seatin more softly so enlargement o the oil hole, and a continuation thereof in said nipple, the spring at its inner end bearing upon a shoulder formed bythe. enlargement in diameter of the oil hole. A gasket 32 seals the joint at the inner end of the nipple 30. By the construction described access to the ball and its seating spring for cleaning or grinding the ball on its seat or for other reasons involves no removal of the cover 20, but merely the removal of the nipple 30. The ball is displaced from its seat by the oil can nozzle when oilin is to be done. Another advantage is the ocation of the ball near the outer end of the holein the nipple so that but small space existsabove the ball for the Collection of dirt, and hence no dirt or dust cap is required. To allow the flow of oil between the head of the outer cup and the inner side of the cover 20, a number of grooves 33 are provided in the cup head which radiate from the center of the cup outward to the rim thereof and as they are equal distances apart, there is a uniform distribution of the oil in all directions.

The inner spring engaging disk 25 has in its periphery a number of equi-distant radial notches 34 which extend from top to bottom of the disk and convert it into a spider so that While the disk may snugly fit the side walls of the chamber 23, there may be a free passage of air from top to bottom thereof and thus retardation of the movement of the diskby air pressure either by cushioning or suction action is avoided. The disk construction is thus a strong but light one, and it'works very freely in the chamber 23. The disk 25 may be separate from or integral with the stem 24.

In the form of my invention illustrated closing cup 35 has its head enlarged in diam.-

-eter to snuglyfit thechamber 23 and form a flange 36 which is engaged by the outer end of the outer spring 26. Preferably the head of the cup 35 has an inwardly projecting round boss 37 that projects into the coils of the inner spring 26 and forms a spring guide and space filler. The oiling device in Fig. 4 is a round hole contained wholly within the cover 20 and of Lmiform diameter throughthe head of the cup 35 has numerouseqmdistant radiating grooves 41 some of which extend to the periphery of the head and communicate with vertical grooves 42 in the periphery of the head while others terminate U at holes 43 which extend through the flange 36 just outs-ide?of the cup 35.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10, the cups are omitted, and the outer spring engaging disk 44'is also-in the from of aspid er, that is to say, it has radial notches 45 in its periphery to provide ducts or channels for the passage of oil introduced through the valve controlled oil hole in the cover. 20. The oil hole 46 is closed by a conical valve 47 which engages a valve seat 48 at the inner end of the hole and which valve at its inner end engages the disk 44.

The valve stem 49 is cruciform in cross section to provide channels for the flow of oil, but the outer end of the stem snugly fits a cruciform hole 50 so that when the valve is on its seat, the oil hole entirely closed at its outer end and thus access of dust or dirt is prevented. In the outer end of the valve stem is a slot .51 intdwhich a screw driver may be inserted so thatwhen the valve 48 is forced inward off its seat and the outer end 0f the stem is carried into a round portion of the oil hole 46, the valve stem may be rotated sufficiently to place its stem out of alinement with the cruciform hole 50 and thus the valve held off its seat while oil is introduced. Projecting into the inner spring from the inner side of the spring engaging disk 44 is a round boss or stem 52 which forms a spring guide and also a filling member or body to diminish the unoccupied space in the chamber 23 to reduce as far as possible the capacity of the chamber 23 to hold gas leaking into it. To enable the valve 48 to be ground to its seat, the cruciform stem engaging hole 50 is provided in a bushing 53 which is screwed into the cap 20 so that by the removal of said bushing with its cruciform hole 50, the valve is free to revolve upon its seat and may be So revolved by the application of a grinding tool to a slot 520 in the end of the boss 52'if the valve 47 and disk 44 are made integral as they are shown in Fig. 7 and if they are not made integral, but the valve is separate, the end of the valve may be provided with a slot. The bushing 53 may be screwed into place and removed by a tool applied to the cruciform hole 50. Tounscrew the bushing,lthe valve, stemZ-mabe pushed out of engagement with the 01c 50 by a fiat bar or other tool that will enter the hole and push the valve stem clear of the hole 50. I

The inner spring engaging disk 251 is shown in Fig. 7 as separate from the valve stem 240, and. it 'fits upon the reduced up per end of said valve stem, the extremity of which is shown as provided with a slot for the application of a turning tool for grinding t1e..valve 14 on its seat. The valve14 and its stem 240 are also made integral and the valve lifting stem 160 'is also made. integral with the valve head. As shown in Fig.

7, a concave fillet is provided at the j unction' of the stem 240 and the valve head 14 and a correspondingly shaped cavity or recess is provided in the adjacent end of the shell 19 which cavity terminates in a shoulder 190 which serves to keep the stem clean of carbon and prevent the latter wedging in beside the side of the stem and the guide hole in the shell.

In Fig. 11 the cruciform hole 50 is shown as formed in the cap 20, and the valve seat for the valve 53 is provided in a bushing 480 that is inserted in a cavity in the inner side of the head of the cap 20. The valve 53 may be ground to its seat in said bushing before the. latter is applied to the cap for which urpose the valve has a slot 531 for the application of a turning tool, and after the valve has b'eenthus ground to its seat the bushing is applied to the cap with a gastightffit being either pressed into the recess.

in the cap or screwed therein. Said bushing cannot come out of the recess because it is subjected to tlie'internal pressure within the shell or container 19 which serves to keep the bushing in its recess in the cap 20. The

disk 440 engaged by the outer end of the coil spr1ng'26 is provided with suitable slots for the downward passage of oil. Of course,

,the disk 440 is separate from the valve 53 in the construction shown in Fig. 11. The lifting stem'161 in Fig. 11 is separate from the valve. 7

.As shown in Fig. 12, the oil valve and its seat may be flat instead of conical as illussuitable tool or instrument while the engine is running and under pressure, any dirt or dust in the passages leading to the valve and clogging in or around the valve will be blown out.

In that portion of the valve stem whether above the valve head or below the same into said chamber; and in the case of the valve lifting stem prevents leakage of air nto the fuel mixture and thus avoids inyuring the mixture by increasing the proportion of air. The same result can be secured by providin the grooves in the guide through whic 1 the stem slides and not'in the stem. The sealing grooves 54 in t-he'case of the stem reaching into the chamber 23, are of special importance in high power engines where the gas pressure is very great, as in the Diesel type, fol-they serve to effect the diminution of the pressure of gas finding its-way between the stem and guide so that any leakage of gas into the spring chamber in any objectionable volume and temperature is guarded against. Said grooves when containing no oil, as is often the case, constitute so many expansion chambers in which the gas pressure is gradually stepped down. Thus for illustration, if the gas when it enters the first groove, is at a pres sure of seven hundred pounds, (which may be its mere compression pressure) it will expand in volume and sutl er a diminution of pressure and any gas passing to the next groove will be affected similarly, and so on with the succeeding grooves. The gas so finding its way into the grooves passes out of the same, and back into the cylinder, upon the ensuing exhaust and the suction stroke of the engine by reason ofthe great diminutionot' pressure that then exists in the work chamber. The diminution of the pressure to practically zero is a mere matter of employing the proper number of grooves.

The increase of volume is accompanied by a reduction of temperature of the gas, and

thus I prevent the access to the spring, of gases at a temperature whlch wou d mJure the spring.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 11 the valve stem 24 may slide in a thimble or bushing 55, the advantage of such construction being that the bushing may be made of material atfording the desired hardness to resist wear while the remainder of the shell or container 19 may be made of cheaper or lighter ma-' terial, but I do not limit myself to either construction, as I regard myself entitled to embody my invention in structures having such a bushing or without such a bushing. The bushing as shown in Fig. 11, ma be provided with a cavity 56 and a shou der 57 to receive a concave fillet 58 on the valve stem, the construction being the same as the cavity and shoulder 190, and the fillet shown in Fig. 7.

' The exterior of the shell 19 is shaped for the application of a wrench for screwing 1t into and removing it from the cylinder head; and the cover 20 is similarly formed for the application of a wrench, and the wrench engaging faces may be provided on the projection on their outer end of the cover as shown in Fi 1 and at or the periphery with the wrenc engaging'faces.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: 4

1 A puppet valve having a valve moving coil spring, a housing for the spring, a valve stem extending intosaid housing, means to transmit movement of the spring to the stem, and opposite telescoping members .within the spring.

2. A puppet valve having a valve moving coil spring, a housing for the spring, a valve stem extending into said houslng', means to transmit movement of the spring to the stem, and opposite telescoping members outside the spring. a v

3. A puppet valve having a plurality of valve moving coil springs one within the v other,-means for transmitting the pressure coil spring, a. housmgfor said spring, a

stem reaching into the housing from the valve and acted upon by said spring, and two cup-shaped telescopic members concentric with the spring, and inclosing the sprin 6. i puppet valve having avalve moving coil spring, a housing for said spring, a stem reaching into the housing from the valve and acted upon by said spring, two cupshaped telescopic members concentric with the spring and inclosing the spring. and a second. coil spring surrounding said. cupsh'aped members. 7. A puppet valve having a valve moving coil spring, a housing for said spring, a stem reaching into the housing from the valve and acted upon by said spring, two cupshaped telescopic membeis concentric with the spring and inclosing the spring, said housing having an oil hole leading to the head of one of said cup-shaped members, and said head having grooves leading outwardly from its center. I

8. A puppet valve comprising a valve moving coil spring, a housing, a valve stem reaching from the housing to the valve,

means for transmitting the pressure of the spring to the stem upon which the spring at one end acts, a cup-form member at the opposite end of the spring, the cup sides and spring coils being side by side and one within the other, an oil hole leading through the housing to'the head of said cup-formmember, and oil distributing channels in said cup-form member.

9. A puppet valve having a valve moving spring, a housing, a valve stem reaching from the housing to the valve head and receiving pressure from the spring, an oil hole having a valve seat at its outer end, a valve for said seat, and a spring holding the valve yieldingly to its seat.

10. A puppet valve having a valve moving spring, a housing, a valve stem reaching from the housing to the valve'head and receiving pressure from the spring, an oil hole having a valve seat at its outer end, a valve for said seat, a spring holding the valve yieldingly to its seat, a removable cap for the housing, and a member containing said valve seat removable from said cap.

11. A puppet valve having a valve moving coil spring, a housing, a valve stem, and a disk slidably fitting the housing and acting on said stem and engaged by one end of the spring, said disk having notches in its periphery from top to bottom thereof.

12. As an improvement in internal comwithin a gas tight casing inclosing the spring, into which the guide hole opens at one end, the other end of said hole being accessible to gases in the engine, and means to prevent gases that enter said hole of a temperature that would injure the spring, from reaching said chamber, comprising a cavity or cavities in one of said parts opening into the hole.

- 13. As animprovement in internal combustion engines, a puppet valve, a valve stem, a guide having a hole in which the stem slides, and through which it extends from end to end, a valve seating spring Within a gas tight casing inclosing the spring, into which the guide hole opens at one end, the other end of said hole being accessible to gases in the engine, and means to prevent gases that enter said hole of a temperature that would injure the spring, from reaching said chamber, comprising an annular groove or grooves in the stem opening into the guide hole intermediate its ends, and accessible to gases finding their way be tween stem and guide.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set hand.

FRANK D. SHEPHERD. 

